Dom Dwyer gets American citizenship, will be able to play for the USMNT

Dom Dwyer is a United States citizen, making him nearly eligible to play for the national team. The Sporting Kansas City striker was born and raised in England, but moved to the U.S. for college and has lived in the country for the last eight years.

Now, the only thing standing between Dwyer and playing for the Americans is getting a passport, FIFA paperwork and a call-up from U.S. manager Bruce Arena.

It’s likely that Dwyer does get that call-up soon. He’s scored at least 12 goals in each of the last three seasons and his 50 regular-season goals since 2014 are the second-most in MLS. He’s a fast striker who has a unique ability to find space in the box and pull away from defenders. Add in some clinical finishing and you have one of the best strikers in MLS.

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The U.S. could use some help at striker too. Jozy Altidore and Bobby Wood have been in terrific form and are the clear-cut top two American strikers. After that, there’s some room for players to get in the squad. Clint Dempsey is 34 years old, Jordan Morris has shown flashes but hasn’t been great and the group of Juan Agudelo, Gyasi Zardes and Aron Johannsson have failed to impress. There really isn’t a go-to striker after Altidore and Wood, and if one or both were hurt, it’s unclear who the Americans would turn to.

Now, Dwyer is an option. He’s a citizen and could make his debut as soon as June, although a call-up for the July Gold Cup is more likely. MLS-based players have previously used the Gold Cup to jump into the national team picture and make the World Cup roster a year later. Now Dwyer can do the same.

This also brings up the possibility of Dwyer and his wife, Sydney Leroux, playing for their respective U.S. national teams at the same time, which would be a first.